Black & white logos.
Halftone, greyscale and linear black & white logo design.

Even in this colorful digital age (four color printing is much less expensive than it used to be and the web is a color rich environment), and even though the majority of the applications of your logo will be in full color, there will still be times when you'll need access to a black and white rendition. Think newspaper ads (often, color advertisements are cost prohibitive), checks, faxes and even cardboard boxes used for shipping. In order to save money, or due to technical restrictions, you'll want to print any corporate identity material as a one color design, usually black, and your full-color logo needs to be shelved for the particular application. While the concept of black and white is pretty simple, there are a few different types of black and white images - linear and greyscale - each with its own strengths and limitations. As we're trying to be perfectionists when it comes to the consistent high-quality use of your new design, any BW usage should also be viewed as extremely important. Having access to a vector based version of your logo is critical when it comes to creating high-quality BW greyscale (halftone) and linear images.

Black and white greyscale (halftone) logos.
A black and white greyscale (also known as a halftone) image of your logo is a version that is made up of tones which are in turn made up from varying sizes of black dots. A greyscale version of your logo is suitable for BW print reproduction, resolution permitting (for extremely low-resolution BW printing - FAX cover sheets, cheques, etc - it's probably advisable to utilize a linear version). This format of your logo can be either vector based or pixel based with the usual pros and cons (unlike a colour pixel based logo this logo can be reproduced using one colour printing). This type of image is most common in BW newspaper photographs, where due to the relatively low resolution of the printing, the dots are visable. When creating a greyscale version of your logo, it's often not a matter of changing the colors to BW by using a 'save as' feature of whatever desktop design software we're using. Often, colors lose their contrast when automatically converted to BW and the tonal range that was so apparent in the color version is lost. In many cases, our designers will have to create separate BW files, adjusting the tonal quality of different areas of the logo for maximum impact. As outlined in the color portion of this page, this is only practical if we have access to a Vector version of the image that we're converting. Many Pixel based 'paint programs' (Adobe Photoshop for example) allow us to adjust the contrast of an image, but these changes are usually 'global' (the entire image changes) rather than the local (specified areas of the image) that are available with Vectors.

Black and white linear logos.
A black and white linear version of your logo is a version that is made up of solid black. There are no half-tones (screens) or greys and is the best type of logo for use on low-resolution reproduction (FAX cover sheets, Check artwork, etc). This type of image is almost impossible to create (at least with any measurable amount of quality) without access to a vector image. In order to create a linear version of your logo, we have to remove all colors, and adjust certain portions of the logo into black or white. This isn't simply a matter of turning color 'off' using our handy-dandy design software. Rather, we have to create entirely new versions of the design and adjust it visually, by eye. This becomes especially critical when producing 'reversal' prints - versions of your logo that print on dark backgrounds. Simply 'flipping' black into white will not create a reverse image of your logo, but rather a negative image (similar to a roll of photographic film). In cases like these, we'll need to adjust certain elements of the logo, and add white outlines to others. None of this is possible without a Vector of the original image. A linear version of your logo can be reproduced economically on silk-screen items such as T-shirts, premium incentives, etc. Linear versions of your logo can also be printed using a coloured ink.

Next Page: File formats

Deciding if you need a logo
What makes a great logo
How do I design a logo
Do it yourself logo design
Clip art logos
Free logos
Logo Templates
Logo design contests
Online logo design
Selecting a designer
What's a logo worth?
Cheap logo design
Unlimited revisions
Working with our studio
How long does it take?
Getting started step-by-step
Logo design pointers
Logo design guidelines
Logo aspect ratios
Logo footprints
Common logo design mistakes
Logo design types
Illustration based logos
Text only logos
Icon driven logos
Cartoon logo design
Colors & your logo
RGB colors
Spot colors
CMYK colors
Pantone Matching System
Black & white logos
File formats
EPS file formats
JPG file formats
PNG file formats
GIF file formats
Your logo in a .PDF
Logo copyright
Poor man's copyright
Logo trademark
Stationery design basics
Business card design tips
Letterhead design tips
Envelope design tips
Design assets
Managing design assets
Having your logo printed
Print resolution
Gang run printing
Web friendly logos
Logo embroidery
Logos & signs
Uses for your new logo
Updating your logo
Logo repair or design